ABC’s 7.30 Report…

Richard Avanzino, President Maddie’s Fund USA – Building collaborative effort and the importance of reporting

continue reading…

Mitch Schneider, Director Washoe County Animal Management Services USA
Getting to Zero through Proactive Animal Management Programs – a Win-Win Approach to Animal Control

continue reading…

Robyn Kippenberger, Richard Avanzino & Joy Verrinder

NDN Opening – G2Z elements

continue reading…

“The head is proportionate to the dog. Viewed from above, the general shape of the head is that of a blunt wedge, large and broad.”

“Viewed from the side, the skull and muzzle are on parallel plains separated by a moderately deep stop. Arches over the eyes are well defined but not pronounced.”

“Muzzle: Slightly shorter in length to the skull. It is broad, deep and powerful with a slight taper to the nose and falls away slightly under the eyes.”

Skull: Large, fairly flat, broad and deep, slightly tapering towards the stop. There is a deep median furrow reducing in depth from stop to occiput. Cheek muscles are prominent but free of wrinkles.

“When the dog is alerted wrinkles will form on the forehead.”

“Lips: Clean and tight.”

“Teeth: Large and a complete scissor bite i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping the lower teeth and set square to the jaws.”

“Nose: Large with wide open nostrils and may be of any colour.”

“Eyes: Medium in size, round in shape and set low in the head – not prominent. Eyes can be all colours except blue. The eye rims are the same colour as the skin colour.”

“Ears: The shape and carriage of the ears will vary from dog to dog. Generally they are set fairly high on the skull, not large and may be half pricked or rose shaped (i.e. folding backwards and exposing the inner burr of the ear).”

“NECK: Moderate length and with great strength, tapering from the head into the shoulders. A slight arch over the crest. The neck must be free from loose skin or dewlap (loose, pendulous skin under the throat).”

“FOREQUARTERS: Strong forelegs, well boned and muscular with elbows fitting close to the body. Viewed from the front the forelegs are set moderately well apart and in a straight line to the ground. The pasterns are short and fairly straight but with flexibility. Viewed from the side, the legs are straight with some flexibility in the pasterns.”

“BODY: Powerfully built with a deep chest of moderate width. Forechest should not extend far beyond the point of shoulder or below the elbow. Well ribbed back with moderate tuck up (concave underline of the body curving upwards from end of the ribs to waist). Back: Broad, strong, firm and level and with a slight incline at the withers. Loin: Short and deep with a slight slope to the croup.”

For the full standard, click here.

The Australia media’s representation of a ‘pit bull’.

I was contacted behind the scenes and asked to remove the photo of a ‘pit bull cross’ from my post about the new Victorian legislation; the justification being, that if the ‘authorities’ saw the dog, they’d then they’d be more likely to target dogs who looked like the one in the picture. Much better, they feel, that we hide all references to pit bulls for fear of making the situation worse.

Firstly, let me say I *do* understand where this is coming from. I don’t have a bull breed, so I can only imagine the fear those who own a bully type dog are feeling right now, thinking that at any moment the authorities are going to visit, deem their dog ‘dangerous’ and demand that they begin living the limited lifestyle of the declared dog; or worse, pressure them into surrendering their pet to be killed.

But one of the biggest reasons we’ve seen the government head down this path in such a jolly fashion, is the cycle of fear and a lack of positive pit bull role models we have in Australia. Nice people who have great dogs who are a bit bullyesk, keep their heads down so as not to attract attention => few positive images of bullies are seen in the mainstream space, so people get to wrong thinking about the breed => bad laws get passed and friendly pibbles and their loving families are driven further underground.

I chose the image of a smiley, bright eyed, well-behaved dog, BECAUSE it was a smiley, bright eyed, well-behaved dog. We need to have more of these images to call upon, not less if we’re ever to overcome the ignorant, misguided aspersions generated by media hype and demonisation.

Groups in the US have recognised this. They are going out of their way to not only market pit bulls, but to bring them back into the home as family pets, as they were before they became the breed-dejour for those inclined to clutch at their pearls.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Tim Racer, who heads a rescue group called Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pit Bulls (or BAD RAP), has rescued hundreds of pit bulls and uses his spectacular art to show the love.

(images TimRacer.com)

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

The Stubby Dog Project’s mission is “to help people rediscover pit bulls as lifelong friends”, including resources on why breed bans fail and featuring positive stories about living with bull breeds.

The vet thought Juno might be closer to 12 years old, and so we know we may not have her for all that much time, but we’re enjoying every minute we have with her now. Plus she just looks so cute in her doggie sweaters! I think in a lot of ways, having the activity of a house with young children is helping her arthritis, as our daughters love throwing toys for her to fetch, and we can see the puppy come out as she scampers after them (but stay out of the way of the rope like tail!). In my opinion, senior dogs really can be the best of both possible worlds.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Pin Ups for Pit Bulls produce an annual calendar and “works to reestablish the defamed reputation of Pit Bull type dogs as America’s premier companion animal, war hero, and therapy dog”.

They have a Facebook page with a whole lot of beautiful shots here.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Best Friends run the “Pit Bulls: Saving America’s Dog” campaign, working to “eliminate inaccurate stereotypes and help pit bulls get back their reputation as great family pets”.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Loveabulls is a coffee table book on life and love with rescued bullies – “Often misunderstood and misrepresented, pit bulls and bully breeds were actually once America’s favorite dogs”.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Petfinder promotes pit bull adoption:

And Adopt a pet promotes pit bull adoption:

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

While the ASPCA helps professional animal rescuers by highlighting pit bull adoption ideas.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

We can’t find misinformation, with no information. We need new campaigns and representatives in Australia, highlighting the joy of pit bulls and their ilk. We need to bring well mannered bully breeds into the public domain and break down the stereotypes surrounding the breed. We can’t let the media be the only source of information about these dogs that the wider public see, and positive pit bull role models are going to be a vital part of rejuvenating the image of bully breeds. These kinds of promotions are needed now, or as we’ve seen in Victoria, all bull breeds and their crosses are at risk of losing their lives to ignorance.

It has been a week since four year old Ayen Chol was killed by a unregistered crossbreed dog, that had been roaming in her family’s street.

Since the attack, animal experts have come forward to advise the government on the problems with their proposed knee-jerk legislation targeting ‘pit bulls’, with the RSPCA leading the charge;

RSPCA Victoria animal shelters manager Allie Jalbert said owners were responsible for a dog’s actions no matter what the breed.

“Any dog regardless of its size or breed or mixture of breeds may bite and may be dangerous,” Ms Jalbert told AAP.

More RSPCA comment from the RSPCA ACT’s Michael Linke:

”There’s no place in our society for vicious dogs or dangerous dogs, irrespective of their breed.

…. But Mr Linke, who owns a two-year-old pit bull terrier named Dahlia, has warned against any irrational demonisation of the breed.

”Any dog is capable of any act, at any point in time,” he said. ”The information that I’m reading is that it was a cross pit bull with a mastiff. ”Why aren’t people talking about mastiffs? Straight away they’re talking about pit bulls, and again I think it’s the easy breed [to target].”

Mr Linke said there was no direct link between unpredictable aggressiveness and pit bulls.’

There has also been feedback from the dog training community:

Brad Griggs, from the National Dog Trainers Federation, warns against a ban. ”Because I am six foot two and a half, and have freckles, it’s like banning every six foot two-plus, freckled person because 10 of them did something wrong over a period of five years,” he says. ”It is the equivalent of racism.”

Griggs is concerned that a ban would push owners of pit bulls away.

”If these people are likely to have these dogs seized or be discriminated against, it’s hardly going to bring them into the dog training community fold, and encourage them to train their dogs and raise them properly,” he says.

Griggs says that, internationally, educated dog trainers don’t have a bias against the breed. Genetics are only part of the picture. ”Genetics are the potential a dog has to live into,” he says, arguing that nurture, as opposed to nature, is extremely important.

…. ”All dogs should be heavily socialised and habituated and that is the key point. The majority of dogs that have these issues to attack like this have had a poor critical socialisation period, up to about 16 or 20 weeks of age.”

Tasmanian veterinary behaviourist Dr Katrina Ward said the issue was not about a particular breed but the wider problem of responsible ownership of dogs.

“A breed doesn’t do these things, an individual dog does,” she said.

“Hysteria of banning breeds isn’t the answer.

“It’s hard to generalise about a breed of dog — the type of owner, the behaviour of the victim are also pertinent to the incident.”

….”Ultimately it is the responsibility of the owner to keep the dog safe from scary situations and keep people safe from a dog that might be reactive.”

And the veterinary community:

Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) spokeswoman Kersti Seksel says… “It’s understandable that people are now calling for the banning of some breeds, however all the good evidence available shows that this doesn’t work.”

“Unfortunately, we believe the banning and over-regulation of dogs in our communities could be part of the problem as this leads to poor socialisation and increased risk of attacks.”

The AVA is instead calling for the government to increase funding for education and socialisation programs for dogs, their owners and young children.

Its statistics show that the most likely victims of dog attacks are children aged under 10, usually by their own dogs at their homes.

“We’re never going to be able to prevent every incident, but a really good way to help prevent bites and attack is through socialisation of puppies with people and other dogs at a young age, and teaching our children how to be safe around animals.”

And the scientific community:

Linda Watson, who is doing a PhD degree on ”dog-bite injury and the effect of regulation”, said the term ”pit bull” had become a generic one, to include dogs such as Staffordshire terriers, English bull terriers, bulldogs, even boxers.

The term pit bull had come to mean ”any small- to middle-sized, short-haired, muscular dog”, she said, which was most misleading and most unfair. ”I don’t believe any breed is dangerous,” she said. ”It is how the dog is treated and the circumstances in which it finds itself in when it may happen to bite.”

….”Knee-jerk reactions by governments do not tend to create good public policy. We do not need any more laws or restrictions that are doomed to failure from the onset. We need a strategy based on the best research evidence that we have to hand.

Breed bans simply do not address other recurrent patterns associated with dog attacks such as irresponsible or uneducated dog ownership.

Measures taken need to address human ownership practices, as dogs of many breeds and crosses feature in dog attacks. No single, or even group of breeds, have been shown to account for the majority of dog attacks in Australia.”(ref)

Even if you’re not a fan of ‘pit bulls’ or bull breed dogs, the fact is the experts agree that breed specific laws do little to protect the community from dog attacks and we should be looking at programs that DO work to curb irresponsible pet ownership.

(for more information on programs which have shown to reduce dog bite injuries, check out solutions from Calgary, Canada)

But one organisation is still spreading the hate, in the face of the professional community - The Lost Dogs Home;

The Melbourne Lost Dogs Home has accused the RSPCA of selling pitbull terriers back into the community under the guise of staffordshire crossbreeds.

RSPCA Victoria rejects the allegation, maintaining that dogs should be judged on their deeds, not their breeds, and that it is operating within the law.

…The RSPCA agrees that identifying crossbreeds is contentious.

“It’s very difficult to assess an animal by its breed type, by its appearance,” shelter manager Allie Jalbert said.

“There’s specifications that the Victorian Government has put forward and they’re the specifications that we use.”

Overwhelming evidence and the scientific determination that the rate of misidentification of dogs by professional animal welfare workers estimated to be around 70% isn’t enough to sway Graeme Smith, who uttered the now infamous phrase;

“My view is that if it looks like a pitbull, it’s a pitbull.”

At the Lost Dogs Home appearance is enough to determine breed and a third of the dogs it catches fit the dangerous description and are destroyed.

But this attack on the RSPCA has revealed the untruths behind those who push the breed-specific approach. If it looks like a pitbull, it most definitely might NOT be a pitbull, and not only does this matter a lot to the owners of misidentified pets, but it is the exact reason these laws cause so many headaches in execution;

WA Rangers Association president Samantha Tarling said identification had emerged as a fundamental problem, with WA’s chief veterinarian refusing to ‘testify to the DNA’ of a dog.

“I once challenged some owners that their dog was a pit bull,” she said. “They showed me the parents with the paperwork. It was a cross between a boxer and a labrador. I could have sworn it was a pit bull.” ~ The West Australian

Furthermore, not only is Graeme Smith purporting that some dogs who have been deemed to be NOT pit bulls by the RSPCA assessors and vets, actually ARE pit bulls – highlighting an immediate problem with identification by animal welfare organisations who do this for a living (and just as importantly his breed identification qualifications) – he is also advocating that these dogs, who have passed the health, behaviour and temperament test of the RSPCA and have shown themselves to be friendly, pet-quality animals… be killed.

Healthy, friendly dogs who look kinda like pit bulls should be killed in Dr Smith’s world.

What does this really mean for the average pet owner and the dogs of Victoria? Given that staffies are some of the most common dogs in the state, and that along with ridgebacks and mastiffs are the most likely to be misidentified as a a pitbull, it means that many, many pets are at risk. Not the animals of dog fighters or thugs, but family pets who’ve done nothing wrong and who will simply be a victim of outdated hate and ignorance.

When a … tragedy or random event hits, people look for someone to blame. If there’s no one to blame, sometimes they look for someone to hate, even if it is ultimately self-destructive.
Seth Godin

Last night a four-year-old girl was fatally attacked by a neighbour’s dog in Melbourne.

According to the most detailed report, the dog identified as a ‘pit bull cross’ escaped a neighbour’s property, crossed the street and attacked a woman. As she rushed into the house, the animal followed her, attacking a five year old, four-year-old Ayen Chol and her mother Jaclin. The dog’s owner then arrived and removed the dog. Ambulance teams treated Ayen at the scene but could not revive her. The two other injured were taken to Sunshine Hospital in a stable condition.

In the short time since the news broke, this tragic incident has received extensive media exposure, including nearly 400 results on Google and hundreds of TV new, interviews and editorials.

Despite all the hysteria, few details on the circumstances surrounding the attack are available. Information on how the dog was kept by its thirty year old owner aren’t clear – was the dog a pet, or was it an undersocialised ‘backyard’ dog? Had the dog acted in an aggressive way previously or had it been encouraged to do so? Was it trained and exercised regularly? Was it registered with council? Was it chained? Was it desexed?

This lack of detail hasn’t stopped Graeme Smith adopting his usual position of throwing all pit bulls and their owners, even responsible owners of mixed breed dogs, under the bus;

Lost Dogs Home general manager Graeme Smith has called on the State Government to urgently conduct a review of dangerous dog legislation in the wake of the attack.
…
“Pit bull terriers and pit bull terrier crosses should be declared dangerous and then they would have to be desexed, vaccinated and microchipped and kept in enclosures on their property or inside the house,” he said.
…
“Pit bulls should be treated like swimming pools, they should be fenced off from the rest of the community. They are deadly.”

The truth is the breed and its crosses are already restricted in the state. Owners are required to notify their council, build an enclosure, keep their dogs muzzled and on a lead when off their property and display prescribed warning signs at all entrances to the premises where the dog is kept. Restricted breed dogs born after 2005 are not allowed to be registered and it’s illegal to purchase a restricted breed dog.

But, as has been the experience in each instance where Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) has been enacted, the banning of pit bulls has failed to reduce the number of people injured by dogs. It has certainly failed to save this child.

In addition, thanks to breed bans, responsible pit bull breeders breeding for temperament and health, are now non-existent in Victoria. What is left is a hodgepodge of dogs bred by a catalog of backyard breeders with varying success. And therein lies the rub.

Rather than support the oft repeated ‘fighting dog heritage’ used to justify the culling of pit bulls by supporters of BSL, the spectrum of what a modern ‘pit bull’ actually is has become irreconcilably muddied. Rather than being the domain of ‘tough bad guys’ and an easily identifiable dog breed, literally thousands of families now own a dog which has ‘pit bull’ somewhere in it’s heritage. If we accept that the traits of the pit bull are incompatible with modern dog ownership (I personally don’t, but let’s play devil’s advocate), proponents of BSL need to ask themselves, at what saturation point does being ‘part pitbull’ become a problem for the community? Does a labrador pit bull cross need to be seized from its family and killed? What if that labrador is only 25% pit bull? What about 5%? What if the dog is actually a mastiff crossed labrador but looks like a pit bull?

Meanwhile, the ban does nothing to target dogs which aren’t pit bull types at all, but who are dangerously aggressive.

A pit bull boxer cross

Continuing down the path of restricting pit bulls will only affect those people with loving, trained, pit bull family members. Owners who seek to have a big, unsocialised, aggressive dog will just dump their pit bull and move onto another breed. Or keep them even more hidden from authorities, since having something ‘illegal’ is likely of no real concern to them, or may actually be more desirable.

We need to treat each dog as an individual, simply because they are. Blanket breed restrictions fail to help owners keep happy, healthy dogs. Killing family pets who’ve done nothing wrong, does not make the community safer. And until we look at the real circumstances that lead to dog attacks, we will continue to see horrific, yet preventable tragedies like the death of little Ayen.

See also: You mean you didn’t want dogs gunned down in the street?

The problem with BSL

In WA there is a single main resource for caring for stray cats; The Cat Haven. The RSPCA offers only limited owner surrenders and few councils have powers to impound cats or facilities to do so. Currently if residents want help with cats on their property, the council’s only advice is to offer them a cat trap so they can trap the cat and take it to the vet or the Cat Haven.

Despite the lack of infrastructure supporting the ‘catch and kill’ model, the Cat Haven is said to kill up to 4,000 unwanted cats and kittens each year. A new Bill introduced in July is set to expand council powers and has cat ‘advocates’ excited about its potential;

“If it all goes well, initially we might see a leap in euthanasia, in the first 12 months when people refuse to get their cats sterilised.”
Roz Robinson – Cat Haven

Including compulsory desexing, registration, microchipping, and the requirement for cats to wear tags, the legislation is set to be some of the strongest in the country and obviously follows in the successful footsteps of other legislation of its kind…

Well, actually not so much;

“There have been a number of studies done, one in Mt Isa, in Queensland, another in the ACT and in the US. They show that animals have been dumped and then when the legislation is brought in, that number has increased. The follow on is that there will be more feral animals.”
Alison Driver from the Cat Owners Association of WA

The RSPCA is supporting the new laws, adding that only by making them even more draconian can the full effect of the bulk council cat cull be realised;

The RSPCA’s Tim Mayne also advocates for keeping cats inside the walls of the home and recommended that this should be part of the new Cat Bill.

So what are the council’s attitude to cats?

Belmont chief executive Stuart Cole said the City did not have a policy for capturing stray cats, nor the responsibility or resources to do so.
…
“However the City recommends the use of an approved pest control company to resolve these issues.”

Town of Victoria Park chief executive Arthur Kryon said the Town had no powers to capture or impound cats.

“It is hoped that this will change when the State Government passes the new cat laws,” he said.

Cat groups want councils to have expanded powers to impound and kill cats. Councils want expanded powers to impounded kill cats. Seems no one is advocating for anything other than killing cats in WA.

See also; Don’t pretend WA’s cat laws are about saving cats

Cats out of control in poor suburbs of WA